D2 Exam Questions Flashcards
Pricing arrangements
Explain 3 objectives of a business case that could be used as the criteria to judge its success (25)
Jul 2015
Explain 3 objectives of a business case that could be used as the criteria to judge its success (25)
- Fostering strategic business focused thinking requiring people with authority to recommend projects/propsals to pre-evaluate their value, rosk or priority
- Improve efficiency and quality of decision making by weeding out the proposals that cannot demonstrate business value
- Enable management to evaluate proposals for feasibility, suitability and acceptability
- Enable management to compare alternatives and options on objective cost/benefit criteria
- Establish measurement yardsticks by which the subsequent performance, deliverables or outcomes of projects can be evaluated at key review points.
Outline the different approaches to the purchase of production materials and capital items (20)
Mar 2013
Outline the different approaches to the purchase of production materials and capital items (20)
Production Materials
- Items are often bought on repetitive basis, possibly against forecasted demand and linked to a computersied stock management system such as MRP, ERP or SAP system. Repetitition allows for buyer/supplier relationships, purchasing systems and cost reduction programmes to be developed or instigated
- Purchasing inevitably plays a key role in the acquisition of such items including supplier selection, price, negotiation and contract formation and supplier relationship management
- Application of the operational objectives of the 5 rights of purchasing applies particularly to production materials
- Expenditure might be segmented using tools such as Krajlic and different purchasing strategies developed depending on criticality of the items/supply side risk and/or impact on final price. Purchasing has significant influence over such activities.
Capital Expenditure
- Unlike operational items which entails purchasing’s day to day involvement, capital items are bought far less frequently and are bought for what they can do rather than part of the end product
- A key distinction lies in the originator of the purchase decision and the decision making. Often production/technical staff will determine the need for specification and in many instances initiate the acquisition by eg requesting prices, undertaking product trials and tests and so on
- Purchase decisions are more likely to be made on machine (technical) attributes rather than commercial aspects. This does not mean purchasing is excluded from the purchase process but rather they play a difference role for example
- Lifecycle/Whole life costs
- Countring the possible prejudice of users
- Provision of commercial, contractual and negotiation expertise
- Identification of alternatives to outright purchase
- Identification of grants
- Assisting with the disposal of the displaced asset
Outline the diferences between production materials and capital items (5)
Mar 2013
Outline the diferences between production materials and capital items (5)
Capital items have a long usage life as they are fixed assets used to make the product (ie vehicles, machinery, computer systems, etc) but production materials are part of the actual end product (ie raw materials, components, assemblies, etc).
Capital items are financed/chargeable to a capital account whereas production materials are financed from the revenue budget
When purchasing capital items it is initiated by production/technical staff and purchasing play a supportive role as opposed to production materials that are mainly purchased by purchasing and is concerned with the 5 rights
Describe 5 activities a procurement function might undertake when contributing to the development of a business case for a new purchase (15)
May 2014, Jan 2017
1. SYSTEMATIC PURCHASING RESEARCH
Looks at factors that affect purchasing of goods/services to ensure company’s competitive position by securing current and future requirements
Tools:
DEMAND ANALYSIS:
Accurately forecast demand for high value, high usage, high risk materials to minimise sourcing, inventory wastes and risks
VENDOR ANALYSIS:
Evaluate capability of potential suppliers and performance of current suppliers to optimise supplier value and minimise supplier risk
SUPPLY MARKET ANALYSIS:
Appraising conditions in supply market relating to factors such as likely availability and the risk of shortages/disruptions to supply, market prices, price fluctuations, etc.
- PROACTIVE VALUE ENGINEERING: Value analysis applied at design, development and specification stage of product development to eliminate wastes, over specification and non-value adding features
- PROMOTE EARLY BUYER INVOLVEMENT: To ensure commercial and supply marketing considerations are taken into account at an early stage when they can make the greatest whole life impact
- PROMOTE EARLY SUPPLIER INVOLVEMENT: To ensure that solutions take into account supply market expertise, technology and innovation
- DEVELOP SPECIFICATIONS, SUPPLIER PERFORMANCE MEASURES AND CONTRACT TERMS which will maximise business benefits and value to the buying organisation
Explain the characteristics of
1) New Purchase
2) Straight Re-Buy
(10)
Jul 2017
Explain the characteristics of 1) New Purchase 2) Straight Re-Buy (10)
1) NEW PURCHASE
- The item has never been purchased before
- If high value, strategic or high risk item, may be subject to systematic purchasing processes
- Writing a specification of requirements is a good opportunity to build in business benefits of the product, service or project at development stage
- A new purchase will be likely to require a new specification and the need to undertake market research and purchasing research. This may include demand analysis, supplier analysis, supply market analysis, value analysis, early buyer involvement (EBI), and early supplier involvement (ESI).
2) STRAIGHT RE-BUY
- A ‘Straight Re-buy’ is a purchase of something (goods or services) that has already been purchased in the past, to exactly the same specification, once, or more often than once.
- There may already be a pre-existing supply chain, and/or existing preferred supplier(s); pre-existing specifications; and pre-existing market knowledge.
- A business case may have already been undertaken in the past; and the processes for making the ‘re-buy’ will probably be well understood already.
- The procurement activity around a straight re-buy will therefore be more straightforward than for a new purchase. The activity may include review of stockholding and replenishment methods, and investigating options for ‘pull’ or demand-led ordering, such as JIT (‘just in time’) methods, the review of EOQ (‘economic order quantities’), the review of existing specifications, and the review of supply market changes.
- Procurement may also sometimes review the existing long-term contracts, to ensure that the existing suppliers remain competitive; and look to gain additional business benefits from repeat orders and/or renewed contracts.
Describe 3 elements to be included in a formal business case to justify a significant expenditure (15)
Jul 2017
Describe 3 elements to be included in a formal business case to justify a significant expenditure (15)
- Value Proposition
- Clearly state the desired business outcomes or deliverables
- It should indicate the possible business benefits of the outcome in monetary terms.
- Possibly include
- cost estimates
- financial modelling and ROI calculations
- risks of the project incl proejct risks, business risks, risks of benefots not realised
- Scope
- The problem or solution scope
- Assumptions and constraints
- Options identified and evaluated
- Assessment of scale and complexity
- Work Planning
- Approach
- Project Stage definitions
- Workload estimate or breakdown
- Sourcing or project plans and schedules
- Critical path analysis
1
Using an example to illustrate, explain the term budget (5)
Nov-17, Jan-16, May-15, Nov-13
Using an example to illustrate, explain the term budget (5)
A budget is defined as a plan quantified in monetary terms,
prepared and approved prior to a defined period of time,
usually showing planned or estimated income to be generated
and/or expenditure to be incurred during that period
and the capital to be employed to attain a given objective
Describe 2 approaches to budgetting used to etablish procurement targets (8)
Nov-17, Jan-16, May-15, Nov-13
Describe 2 approaches to budgetting used to etablish procurement targets (8)
- Incremental Budget
- Looks at the actual figures from the previous period
- It is then adjusted in line with known changes to arrive at a budget for the current period
- For example might add a percentage to the last period’s procurement costs to reflect average cost rises or pricing trends in the supply market
- Zero based budget
- The previous periods are ignore and it is started completely from scratch
- For example we might estimate costs and prices for the procurements planned in the new period
Explain 3 purposes of preparing a budget for a procurement function (12)
Nov-17, Jan-16, May-15, Nov-13
Explain 3 purposes of preparing a budget for a procurement function (12)
- To coordinate operations from various departments’ budgets ie sales, engineering, operations, inventory and procurement eg multifunctional projects and processes
- To control procurement activities and costs by highlighting areas where business benefits may be at risk owing to unexpected costs or unmanaged costs or cost levels, triggering corrective action
- To pre-authorise estimated levels of expenditure for procurement activities which can thereafter be controlled mainly via ‘reporting by exception’ in the event of a variance
Define the term “total lifecycle costing” (5)
Mar-14, Mar-15, Nov-16
Define the term “total lifecycle costing” (5)
Also called Whole Life Costing or Through Life costing can be defined as ‘economic assessment’
considering all agreed projected significant and relevant cost flows
over a period of analysis
expressed in monetary value.
The projected costs are those needed to achieve defined levels of performance,
including reliability, safety and availability.
Describe 5 costs that should be considered when calculating the lifecycle cost of an item, apart from the purchase price of the item (20)
Mar-14, Mar-15, Nov-16
Describe 5 costs that should be considered when calculating the lifecycle cost of an item, apart from the purchase price of the item (20)
- Various transaction costs eg taxes, foreign exchange rate costs and the cost of drawing up contracts
- Operating costs eg labour, consumables, materials, cost of change, for instance, a decision to use alternative materials
- Costs of quality ie inspections, re-work or rejection, lost sales, compensation of customers, etc
- Costs of storage and other handling, assembly or finishing required
- End of life costs such as decommissioning, removal for sale and safe disposal, re-instatement of land or buildings for alternative use
Using examples to illustrate, explain the difference between a straight re-buy and a modified rebuy (10)
May-14, Jan-17
Using examples to illustrate, explain the difference between a straight re-buy and a modified rebuy (10)
A straight re-buy has been sourced from a supplier before and when it is purchased again the specification remains the same, no changes are ever specified. For example we purchase pvc cards with our company logo pre-printed on it a few times a year to print ID cards in house. When we notice stock getting low, we simply issue a purchase order to the supplier who then sends us the pre-printed cards. If we wanted to change the design of the card for example to reduce the logo size, it will become a modified re-buy due to the change in specification. I will have to go back to the supplier, find out if they can indeed make the changes I require, get a quote and then issue a Purchase order for the goods. If this product was a high value and or high spec item, like a computer or a machine, I would have to justify the modification and put it through a systematic procurement process but small value items dont require that.
2
Describe the role of a specification at 3 different stages within the procurement cycle (9)
Nov 2017, Nov 2015
LO2
Describe the role of a specification at 3 different stages within the procurement cycle (9)
DEFINE THE NEED
- Define the requirement in a manner that is clear, concise and unambiguous
- Communcating with key internal stakeholders to ensure necessary contribution and buy-in
INVITE QUOTATIONS/TENDER
- Communicating with potential suppliers so that they understand what is required and can produce a credible bid
CONTRACT/SUPPLIER MANAGEMENT
- Measure whether the supplier is conforming against the agreed specification
- Provide evidence of good or poor performance by the supplier, including evidence of what was agreed in the event of a dispute with the supplier
Assess four potential consequences of drafting a poor specification for a contract (16)
Nov-17, Nov-15
Assess four potential consequences of drafting a poor specification for a contract (16)
- Possible misunderstandings with the supplier ie if specification was vague, inaccurate or overly technical this could lead to rejection of deliveries, lost production time, legal disputes and damaged relationships
- Misunderstanding with other stakeholders over requirements and expectations that dont meet the user’s needs. This could lead to internal conflict, resistance to use the product and loss of credibility to purchasing
- Likely to be defects in goods supplied that will be costly ie lost time, scrapped goods, additional inspections and controls. If defects reach the customer it could result in lost customer loyalty, lost business and affecting brand reputation
- Even if the materials and services conform to specification they may fail to function as they should (or to meet the business need) the risk and cost of such a failure is borne by the buyer
Outline 5 content sections that might be included in a technical specification (10)
Mar 2016
Outline 5 content sections that might be included in a technical specification (10)
- Scope of the specification ie its objectives and content
- Definitions ie explanations of any technical or specialised terms used
- References to any related documentation ie standards or legislation
- Desired appearance, texture and finish requirements incl any identification marks, operating symbols, safety instructions
- Drawings, samples or models of the required product where available
Explain 5 disadvantages of using a brand name in a specification (15)
Mar 2016
Explain 5 disadvantages of using a brand name in a specification (15)
- Brand names are expensive because of high quality, reliability, well known name and image
- There may be restricted choice of branded products in a market, and perhaps only on esupplier of a given product
- The supplier may alter specification of its product without changing the branding or notifying customers: ordering by brand may ot therefore conform to the requirement
- Branded products may be ‘fakes’ (product of low quality passed off under the brand name) and generic products claimed as identical equivalents to a branded products (common in pharmaceutical industry). This may be a particular hazard in consumer purchases.
- Manufacturers may tend to assume without proper testing, that branded materials or components will be satisfactory but cutting corners on quality assuance is always a risk.
Describe 3 circumstances in which a conformance based specification could be used (15)
Jan-16, May-14
Describe 3 circumstances in which a conformance based specification could be used (15)
- Technical or design specification to meet specific weight, dimensions or tolerance levels that are critical for functional or operational performance. The item must conform to a specification such a drawings, design or blueprint. Typically used in engineering, construction or acrhitectural industries that require a high degree of technical accuracy and very low tolerances
- Composition Specification specifying chemical or physical make-up of materials or contents. Appropriate in the manufacture of chemicals, manufactured materials ie plastic/metal alloys. May be particularly important where tain physical properties (ie strength,flexibility, durability) are important for safety and/or performance ie in the case of metal used in car manufacture
- Market Grade Specification - some materials, especially commodities ie steel/wool are subject to a grading system in which qualities such as strength and flexibility are standardised. Buyers are familiar with what each grade implies and purchase according to this grade.
Explain 1 possible advantage and 1 possible disadvantage of involving suppliers in producing a specification (10)
Jan-16, May-14
Explain 1 possible advantage and 1 possible disadvantage of involving suppliers in producing a specification (10)
-
Advantage
- The supplier is able to provide expert technical advice in terms of material specifications, tolerances, technological advances, potential changes, etc
-
Disadvantage
- The product may be designed around the suppliers’ capabilities which may be limiting and may lock the buyer into a supplier relationship however If the supplier becomes complacent and no longer provides a quality product it could be problematic
Explain the reasons for using standards within specifications (9)
Jul-17, Jul-14
Explain the reasons for using standards within specifications (9)
- Convenient way to specify quality, safety and performance levels, parameters and tolerances
- Raise its performance to comply with quality and/or environmental management standards, both to enhance its own quality performance and to demonstrate capability by seeking accreditation or certification under recognised quality schemes
- Require or encourage suppliers to comply with quality management standards, to support and demonstrate the quality performance of its supply chain.
Describe 4 typical KPI’s and outline how they might be used to measure performance in a contract (16)
Jul-17, Jul-14
Describe 4 typical KPI’s and outline how they might be used to measure performance in a contract (16)
- Quality Management
- Systems and processes are clear and documented
- Use quality systems because:
- Convenient way to specify quality, safety and performance levels, parameters and tolerances
Raise its performance to comply with quality and/or environmental management standards, both to enhance its own quality performance and to demonstrate capability by seeking accreditation or certification under recognised quality schemes
Require or encourage suppliers to comply with quality management standards, to support and demonstrate the quality performance of its supply chain.
- Cost Management
- Consumable purchasing rates are benchmarked for value for money
- Timeliness
- Service is delivered within the agreed period
- time of delivery, the lead time, time slots availability and acceptable delay for a delivery.
- Compliance
- Corporate policies and procedures are adhered to